Seismographs, normally used for collecting information on earthquakes, are used to detect nuclear bomb tests around the world. Some countries have spy satellites that can take detailed images of everything that happens on the ground. Today there are methods that help find out which information is important and which is not. Military espionage involves stealing information on weapons and troop movements. Company secrets are stolen in order to gain an advantage over a competitor. Industrial espionage has become widespread in the last decades. In the past few years, the CIA has been widely criticized for collecting secret information from American allies in Europe.Įspionage is not only political.

Spying is not only done on enemies, it includes gathering information about friendly countries as well. In fact, there were situations, like the Cuban missile crisis, in which espionage even helped to prevent a war.Īfter Communism collapsed in the 1990s espionage between east and west became less important. It was very important to know what the enemy was thinking and what actions other countries were prepared to take. During this period espionage was at its climax. Thus, they were aware of what was happening in most of Europe.ĭuring the Cold War, the CIA’s counterpart was the Soviet KGB. Britain's notorious MI5 was a reliable organization that fed the Allies with information about Nazi Germany. The organization, which was founded after the attacks on Pearl Harbour, later came to be known as the CIA, the most powerful intelligence agency in the world. Both Unionists and Confederates used spies during the American Civil War.ĭuring World War II the American Office of Strategic Services gathered information for the Allies. In the Middle Ages, Queen Elizabeth I of England organized a spy network to gather information about Spain, her long-time enemy.ĭuring the American Revolution George Washington set up a complicated network of spies to gather information about the British army. Ancient Egypt and Greece, as well as the Roman Empire employed spies to find out the secrets of their enemies. Spies were common in all ancient cultures and civilizations. The information that is collected can be a country’s military secrets, facts about a person’s private life or even a firm’s production secrets.Įspionage is almost as old as mankind itself. Spies are specially trained people who do this.

Espionage happens when people gather secret information on a country, an organization or individuals.

Espionage definition cold war